I'm not giving that consideration for a response.Is it ethical, that was the question, NO!

The actual payoff is usually considerably higher than the PB.

Although Visalia is still a considerable distance from Fresno, it could get caught up in the rising tide when Fresno starts growing again.

Especially because these are distressed asset/distressed homeowner situations you want very thorough disclosure and the outcome for the homeowner does need to be a primary consideration - which it sounds like you already get.

No one ever takes into consideration who actually brings the money to the table.

The definition of a broker is: Any person, partnership, association, or corporation that sells (or offers to sell), buys ( or offers to buy), or negotiates the purchase, sale, or exchange of real estate, or that leases (or offers to lease) or rents (or offers to rent) any real estate or the improvement thereon for others and for a compensation or valuable consideration.

If you are screening tenants and you figure that the tenant might be have a difficult life situation, would you put that into consideration when choosing if the financial side of the screening passes?

That amount can be used for loan consideration purposes.

Grow lights use a lot of wattage (of course they could bypass the meter, or have some generators or something... but usually the meter will spike in use.The water bill will also go up considerably.

Just collect that entire amount (your proposed security deposit plus the option amount) as part of the non-refundable option consideration upfront.You see, that word "non-refundable" is the key here...And if they exercise their option, it is credited toward the down-payment.